Camellia sasanqua ‘Jean May’

Popular worldwide, award-winning Camellia sasanqua ‘Jean May’ is incredibly beautiful with its profuse, semi-double, or double shell-pink flowers with deeper shades of pink towards the center and many gold stamens. Slightly fragrant, the blooms, up to 3-5 in. wide (7-12 cm), are produced over a fairly long period in the early season (October – January in the Northern Hemisphere; March – June in the Southern Hemisphere). They are borne in such abundance that ‘Jean May’ in full bloom becomes one of the glories of the winter garden. The evergreen foliage of glossy, elliptical, dark green leaves with toothed margins makes this camellia a perfect candidate for espalier, flowering hedge or screen, border shrub, or container planting.

• Compact, this medium-sized evergreen shrub has a bushy, upright form and grows up to 6-10 ft. tall and wide (180-300 cm)
• Winner of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society.
• A part shade to full shade lover, this plant is best grown in consistently moist, acidic, organically rich, well-drained soils.  Once established, it will thrive in full sun, provided the roots are kept cool and moist. Provide a site sheltered from cold, dry winds, as cold winds may damage buds and flowers. Protect from the early morning sun and the direct hot summer afternoon sun.
• May be attacked by aphids, scale insects, and vine weevil
• Mass in mixed shrub borders for dramatic winter blooms. Great flowering shrub for woodland gardens or as a screen and hedge. Perfect as a specimen plant and may be effectively grown in tubs or large containers.
• Apply a root mulch (leaves or shredded bark)
• Prune after flowering. Prune to thin branching and control size and shape.

Camellia sasanqua is one of the loveliest fall flowers, graceful in form, tender in color, and pleasing in fragrance. As summer fades and the leaves begin to turn, this camellia opens with aplomb during the camellia season. The flowers, mostly single or semi-double, are not quite as large and showy as those of Camellia japonica. Still, they are born in such profusion that a camellia sasanqua in full bloom becomes one of the glories of the fall garden. Never bigger than 3-4 in. (7-10 cm), the scented blooms feature fluted, ruffled petals ranging from white to deep pink. Each flower only lasts a couple of days before it drops its petals, making them ill-suited for cutting. Camellia sasanqua’s elegant and open habit allows them to blend beautifully with other shrubs without dominating the way the larger-leaved, denser-growing camellia japonica do. Faster growing than Camellia japonica, this broadleaved, evergreen shrub may grow from 18 in. (45 cm) up to 12 feet (360 cm). Camellia sasanqua shrubs are more sun tolerant than Camellia japonica but slightly less cold-hardy (USDA Hardiness Zone 7 – 9).